This invention relates to displaying electronic programming guide information on a video display, and more particularly to selecting and displaying records of electronic programming guide information having associated times that are different than the initially displayed records.
Electronic programming guides (EPGs) are well known and have been in use for several years. EPGs provide information to television viewers regarding television programming. EPGs typically display information on a video display, such as a television set. The information is characteristically provided in a grid form. Programming information is displayed with horizontal rows containing programs appearing on a particular channel and vertical columns being arranged according to time. An example of such an EPG grid is shown in Young, U.S. Pat. No. 5,727,060. The EPG grid generally is comprised of an array of irregular cells, where the cell size can vary from a fraction of an hour to many hours.
An EPG for a television system may be implemented in a variety of fashions. For example, one common implementation of an EPG utilizes a dedicated cable television channel for continuously broadcasting program schedule information. The television viewer tunes a cable converter box or television tuner to the channel on which the EPG information is modulated and views the program listings. Typically, the EPG utilizes a scrolling display of television listings. Some systems employ a partial screen of listings with additional information on the remainder of the screen such as advertisements for movies on pay channels, pay-per-view event schedules, time and weather information, and/or other commercial information.
There are several problems with the implementation of such an EPG system on a dedicated channel. First, the grid or matrix containing the EPG information must be viewed separately from the programming shown on other channels. Thus, viewers who wish to determine what is on different channels at different times must interrupt their viewing of a program to display the EPG grid. This interrupts the viewing of the program, and is an inconvenience for the viewer. Second, the amount of information displayed is extremely limited. The viewer can only see the programming information for the current time period. The viewer cannot control the display to view programming information at either earlier or later times. Finally, the viewer must wait for the display to scroll to the channels of interest. The relevant information is then only briefly displayed. This can be frustrating for the viewer who must wait for the display to scroll to the channels of interest.
One system has attempted to overcome this difficulty by providing a grid containing EPG information which overlays a video. In this system, a television displays a video simultaneously with a full EPG grid display. This is apparently accomplished by displaying the video on half of the pixels of the screen, and displaying the EPG grid on the other half of the pixels. This display is confusing for the viewer, since it is difficult to view either the video or the EPG grid. Moreover, this type of EPG grid display still does not allow the viewer to display programming information for times which are earlier or later than the displayed times.
Another type of information display involves the use of information banners. Information banners generally consist of a panel which contains more detailed programming guide information than contained in the EPG grid displays. The information banner is generally limited to a single program. The information banner may contain, for example, the channel, the time of the program, the title of the program, a short description of the program, whether the program is close-captioned, whether the program is a repeat, and the rating of the program. In one version of this system, an information banner is displayed at the bottom of the screen when a new channel is selected. The panel is then removed after a certain period of time if the channel is not changed.
In another system, a viewer may scroll through information banners while simultaneously viewing a video on the upper portion of the display. In this system, a viewer may scroll through the information banners for different channels to display information banners for programs showing at the current time. However, the viewer is unable to view information banners corresponding to different times. Thus, this system is limited to providing information relating to programming on other channels at the current time. If a viewer wishes to view programming guide information for different times, then the viewer must resort to interrupting his or her viewing by changing to an EPG grid display.
Thus, there exists a need for an improved display of EPG information. Such a system should allow a viewer to enjoy continuous uninterrupted viewing of a desired video, while at the same time allowing the viewer to peruse the EPG information for different times and for different channels. Further, the system should allow the viewer to conveniently switch back and forth between the information banner and the EPG grid, while nevertheless continuing the viewing enjoyment of the video.